


To Die or Be Alive

by Dassy1407



Category: One Direction, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bus Crash, Gen, M/M, lilo if you squint, nouis if you squint too, sorry about this :(, zianourry friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2017-12-27 16:56:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/981348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dassy1407/pseuds/Dassy1407
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis felt cold. But he knew he had to get up and see if the others were okay. If they were even alive...</p><p>*warnings, this is sad because their bus crashes and people die. Don't read it it'll trigger anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. To Die

Louis felt cold. That was the first thing he noticed when he regained consciousness. He stayed still for a long while, his eyes closed. He felt cold, but heavy. His mind was clogged and he couldn’t register exactly where he was. Nothing hurt, per say, it was just cold.

Eventually he managed to open his eyes and he was met with a clear night’s sky, starts sparkling above him. He blinked once and he realized that he wasn’t exactly outside. Instead, he was looking through a window to the night sky. He recognized the window; one he had looked out plenty of times before. Only usually the window would face the side and he would watch trees, mountains, and city buildings wiz by.

Why do I see the sky? He thought to himself.

There was a noise to his left and his cold body jumped slightly, jarring the area around him. He blinked repeatedly and slowly sat up from the rubble. It was dark around him, the only light coming from the bright stars and moon from the broken window above his head. He looked to his left and suddenly he felt even colder.

He knew where he was now; he was on the tour bus, only now it was on its side and the inside was destroyed. He remembered…

*flashback*

“Aw poor Zaynie afraid he’s gunna lose?” Louis teased the Bradford boy who just rolled his eyes and walked away to the bunks. The other four boys were sprawled out on the couches and floor, cards and poker chips piled beside them. 

Louis was about to make another comment but Liam rolled his eyes. “Just leave it, Lou. He just doesn’t want to play. He’s tired.”

“Yeah, tired of losing,” Niall laughed and started dealing out the deck of cards.

Louis let out a small cackle and picked up his hand. “Gunna be a good night lads.”

“You always say that,” Harry smirked from the couch. 

“And you always lose,” Liam added and Louis threw him a deserving swat to the back of his head. 

“Enough, let’s play!” Niall cut in and all boys inspected their hands. Louis’s eyes scanned the boys faced, trying to read them. Niall and Harry were good at hiding their reactions, but Louis could tell Liam didn’t get a decent hand, unlike him. 

“Alright there Payne?” Louis grinned.

Liam raised his eyes and glared. “I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth and Louis mentally marked, ‘One down…’. Louis had a good hand and he had every intention to win.

Only, they never got to start the game officially, let alone finish. Their tour bus suddenly jerked forward and the poker chips scattered across the floor. 

“What the hell,” Harry muttered, turning in his seat to look through the dark window, trying to see something.

Louis felt a bad tingling move through his body and his eyes flashed to Liam, who looked as bad as Louis felt. 

“Harry, get back from the win—“ Liam’s warning voice stopped abruptly when the tour bus once again jerked. This time though it didn’t smooth out. 

Louis could hear the tires screeching and suddenly the bus was spinning. Louis reached out towards Liam, who was the closest to him, but their fingers barely touched before the bus flipped and they were ripped apart. Louis barely cried out before his head hit something hard and he blacked out.

*end of flashback*

Louis eyed the scattered cards and poker chips scattered across the rubble. He saw torn up metal and wood a mix their personal items that were thrown through the bus. 

The noise to his left happened again and he turned his aching body to see a blob of curly hair moving. 

“Harry,” Louis gasped and pushed himself to unsteady feet. He knew he probably should have stayed still, he probably had a concussion considering how bad his head hurt right now, but he was conscious and he had to help his band mates.

“Harry,” Louis tried again and stepped over to the broken TV by Harry. The youngest boy was half hidden by luggage and dishes but his head kept rolling side to side. “You okay?”

“Hello?” Harry’s voice was raspier than usually and Louis could physically feel the quiver it held. 

“Yeah, harry, I’m here,” Louis assured but he couldn’t find a way to get over the TV and other rubble blocking his path.

“H-help!” Harry’s voice rose and then suddenly his head raised and looked down at his own body. Louis saw the large piece of metal sticking out of Harry’s abdomen at the exact same time Harry let out his first cry.

Harry became hysterical and his hands reached out towards the metal.

“Harry don’t touch it!” Louis shouted, grabbing the corner of the large TV in attempt to move it. 

Harry’s hands stilled by the metal as if he was too afraid to touch it. “H-help me! S-someone please!” he cried and Louis never heard Harry sound so desperate. “Louis, please,” he whimpered tiredly.

“I’m coming, don’t worry,” Louis said, groaning when he tried to move the TV. Louis’s muscles shook but the TV wouldn’t budge. Harry’s pleas for held continued to ring in his ears. “Damn it Harry, I’m coming!”

“P-please…” Harry’s voice suddenly grew faint before he stilled.

Louis felt a chill and tears ran down his face when Harry fell quiet. “Harry?” he called and yelled his name again when he didn’t answer. “Fuck!”

There was another noise from behind him and Louis’s focus was turned to his other band mates. If Zayn had stayed in the bunks, him and Harry were unreachable. Niall and Liam on the other hand probably stayed in the main living room area.

Louis took one last look at Harry, praying to God that he didn’t just watch his friend die, and turned to the other end of the bus. “Niall? Liam?” he softly called into the darkened bus. He carefully tiptoed around the rubble, bending down and using his hands to feel along the floor. When his hand felt soft fabric, his eyes adjusted more to the darkness and he realized he had found Liam.

The boy was face down on the floor, his face pressed up against a cracked window that now showed black pavement beneath. The cracks on the window were painted with blood. Liam’s legs were partly buried under wooden pieces from shelving. His arm was twisted and Louis could see the bone almost poking through the skin. 

There was a lot of blood on Liam’s face and Louis wanted to look away from his broken friend, but as soon as he saw Liam’s eye lids flutter open, Louis was pushing a suitcase out of the way to crouch down by Liam’s head.

“Liam?” Louis’s voice was hoarse and tears blurred his eyes. 

Liam’s eyes slowly looked around before moving up towards Louis, whose face was illuminated by the moon. Liam’s lips parted but he struggled to make a noise.

“It’s okay, you’re gunna be okay, Li. I’m sure someone’s already on their way,” Louis promised but everything around him felt deafeningly quiet. He knew they were in the United States but he didn’t even know what state they were in. He guessed by the quiet that they weren’t anywhere near a highly populated city. Their driver liked to take back roads…. What if no one realized they crashed until morning?

Liam made a small noise before he whispered, “Lou.” 

Louis crouched down further so Liam’s eyes didn’t have to strain to look up at him. “Yeah Li? I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

Liam only blinked and Louis understood that as an “Okay”. 

Louis cleared his cloggy throat before asking, “Can you move anything? Tell me what hurts,” he asked, trying to distract him. 

Liam swallowed before letting his eyes flutter close. For a moment Louis thought he fell unconscious but seconds later his eyes opened again.

“F-feel numb,” Liam breathed. “Head hurts,” he said through strangled gasps.

“Yeah? Mine too,” Louis gulped and his eyes scanned down Liam’s body. “You say you feel numb, huh?” He reached out and touched the fingers on Liam’s hand, the arm that wasn’t obviously broken. “Squeeze my hand,” he instructed, but couldn’t make himself look at Liam’s face, only his fingers.

Luckily, Liam’s fingers fluttered against his own. They didn’t grip or squeeze Louis’s hand, but they moved.

“Th-they movin’?” Liam asked and Louis looked at him to see his eyes wide in fear.

Louis nodded quickly, despite how much it killed his head. “Yeah, they’re moving, you’re all good,” he assured, letting out a small cry with his smile. 

“A-and my legs? My toes?” Liam asked and Louis’s eyes moved down to Liam’s feet. He had only been wearing socks when they crashed but Louis could see from their that Liam’s toes weren’t moving. 

Louis’s fingers shook against Liam’s and at that moment he felt guilty but glad that Liam couldn’t really feel that. “Y-yeah, buddy, they’re moving,” he lied, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew if he told Liam that his toes weren’t moving that he would freak out and he didn’t need Liam to go into shock above anything else.

A small smile appeared on Liam’s face. “Good,” he whispered and then his eyes closed again. “Tired…” he drifted off and Louis firmly gripped Liam’s hand.

“Liam, don’t fall asleep,” Louis almost shouted, but Liam remained still. Louis let out a sob and his chin dropped to his chest. “S-stop leaving me,” he whimpered. He checked that Liam was still breathing, which he was, but his ministrations weren’t waking the younger boy.

He sat beside Liam like that for about a minute before he gently laid Liam’s hand back on the floor—or more like wall of the bus—and stood back up. He still had Niall to look for. He began to call out his friend’s name as he moved through the rubble. Eventually, he moved couch cushions and found Niall. Unlike when he found Harry or even Liam, Louis just knew that Niall wasn’t alive. His eyes were half lidded and the large gash on his head was enough to know that he was gone.

Louis knelt down beside him and grabbed his cold hand. “Shit, Niall, I’m so sorry,” he sobbed. His body shook and he felt that cold chill once again. Louis was shivering dangerously and but he didn’t even wonder if he was going into shock. He heard a moan from Harry’s side of the bus and Louis forced himself to put down Niall’s hand and move back to his curly haired friend. 

It was similar to the first time when Harry woke up and saw the metal sticking out of him. “Harry,” Louis called out again, his voice sounding raw now and he wasn’t even trying to stop his crying.

Harry once again began to scream for help, ignoring Louis’s cries for him to calm down. As Harry’s screams grew louder, so did Louis’s cries. He felt helpless because he couldn’t help his friends—any of them. He didn’t know if Zayn was alive or if Liam still was. And Niall—Louis didn’t want to think about Niall; it hurt too much.

Louis fell to his knees and yelled out, “Harry, why aren’t you listening to me!?” Despite Harry’s pleas for someone to help, he had not once replied to Louis’s calls. The fear that Harry had hurt his hearing ran through his mind.

Eventually Harry’s screams became too much and Louis knew he had to get to his friend. He grabbed the corner of the large TV and let out a scream of his own as he lifted it from the ground and shoved it aside. Louis’s muscles screamed and he wondered if he had an adrenalin rush like he’s read about in the news.

Louis had little time to celebrate. He never got the chance to get to Harry because he looked down.

All he did was look down where the TV once was and he saw an image he will never be able to remove from his mind. Beneath the TV—this whole time—was a body, broken and dead, littered with tiny cuts from the glass screen. One big cut across the jugular. Louis trembled once and he suddenly didn’t feel cold anymore as he looked into those dead blue eyes staring directly up through the broken window. Warmth rushed through him as he stared at his own dead body. The sounds of sirens echoed behind him and suddenly everything went black.


	2. To Be Alive

Zayn stood on the side of the road, his arms wrapped tightly around him, a heavy coat resting on his shoulders but doing nothing to keep him warm. Around him, people bustled to and from ambulances but Zayn couldn’t keep his eyes off the flipped over tour bus in front of him. He saw flashlights flickering out the broken windows and holes as they searched for his friends. 

When the bus had crashed, Zayn had been trapped in the back room, unable to get to the front. He had no serious injuries and he had managed to crawl out the back window. He tried to find another way in, calling his band mates’ names but no one was responding. He found the driver unconscious, but alive. He checked his cracked phone but couldn’t get any service. He didn’t know where they were and the only thing around was a sign saying “Gas Station 2 Miles Ahead.” So Zayn had ran despite the mild aches in his body. He ran faster than he ever had before to get help for his friends.

It felt like forever before he reached the station and help arrived, but now he was back at the crash. He had refused to go directly to the hospital; he had to make sure his friends were okay. 

He listened as Harry screamed and it gave him an odd sense of relief. As long as he was screaming that meant he was alive. He heard nothing from the others and Zayn shivered as they finally pulled Harry out of the wrecked bus and put the board he was strapped to on a stretcher and wheeled him away. Zayn almost fainted at the sight of the metal sticking out from Harry’s stomach.

Next to be removed was Liam and Zayn moved forward to get a better look. He was strapped tightly down and his neck was in a brace. He saw the blood on his head and his twisted arm.

“Sir, please stay back,” an officer instructed him when he tried to get closer to Liam.

Zayn only shakily nodded and stepped away again, looking back at the wreckage. “Wh-where are the others?” he asked the officer after many minutes passed without Niall or Louis being brought out. 

The officer spoke in codes to his walkie-talkie and when the reply came through, Zayn didn’t have to understand what those numbers meant. He saw the sad look on the officer’s face. Zayn blinked away tears and looked back at the wreckage, his fears confirming when two more bodies were pulled out—bodies of his two best friends, both completely concealed in black body bags. 

Zayn felt hands on his arms and people saying, “We will drive you to the hospital now,” but Zayn could only see the image of the body bags. He collapsed into the back seat of the police car and laid his head down against the window before he passed out.

 

When Louis woke up again, he felt the same coldness he had felt the first time. He sat up, this time feeling less achy and strangely more okay than he did before. He looked around and got the chills when he saw that he was in a morgue. Dead bodies laid on display on slabs around him. Louis jumped off the table, landing with a thud against the tiles. He turned back around to see his own body again laid out. His eyes were now closed and the excess blood had been wiped away, but the deep gash on his throat was still bloody and raw.

Louis gulped and hurriedly moved away from his pale body. In his rush he bumped into a solid mass with an oomph. 

“Hey, watch it,” a familiar voice snapped and Louis whirled around to see Niall staring back at him. “Shit, Louis,” Niall gasped. 

Suddenly Louis was engulfed in a tight hug and his coldness increased because Niall was even colder than he was. He wasn’t used to hugs from Niall being so cold. 

“We’re dead, aren’t we?” Niall whispered against his neck.

Louis slowly nodded. “Can’t you tell by where we are?” he let the small joke slip and they both laughed pathetically.

“I kind of guessed when I chased Zayn the whole way down the road and he didn’t even register that I was there,” Niall admitted and they pulled apart from each other.

“He’s okay?” Louis’s eyes looked directly into Niall’s as if he looked away for too long and he’d leave him too.

Niall nodded. “He got out right away and ran for help. At first I thought he was just in shock, or I was, but I followed him and I knew something was wrong because he acted like I wasn’t there.”

Louis nodded. “Harry did the same thing when I tried to talk to him,” he said and shuddered. 

Niall reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “It’s okay, Lou,” he said softly.

Louis blinked and finally looked away from Niall. “We’re dead, Ni,” he whispered and looked around at the bodies. “How is any of this okay?”

Niall struggled not to let his tears fall and he kept on a stern face. “Because we’re not alone,” he said.

Louis quickly looked back at Niall. “I’d rather do this alone if it meant you were alive,” he said.

Niall let out a shuddering smile. “I’d do it alone too, Lou. Though both of us being alive would be nice too.”

“Can’t always get what we want,” Louis said softly.

“I wonder how the others are…” Niall said, glancing up, figuring they were in a morgue of the same hospital the other three were taken to.

“Oh, god, Liam!” Louis suddenly shouted, remembering. “H-he talked to me,” he exclaimed, his hands gripping Niall’s arms tightly.

“What are you talking about?” Niall questioned.

“O-on the bus, he woke up and he talked to me. Harry didn’t know I was there but Liam saw me and he spoke to me! Wh-what if he was dead? Is dead?” he paled and quickly looked around the morgue. “If he had been alive, he wouldn’t have been able to see me.” He felt sick at this realization and he released Niall’s arms to run through the tables of corpses, searching for Liam’s face.

Niall ran after him. “Liam’s alive!” he shouted. “I saw them get him out and he looked in bad shape but he was alive—“

Louis halted and turned to face Niall. “Are you sure?” he demanded.

Niall nodded and grabbed Louis’s hand. “Let’s go find him. All of them,” he suggested and Louis numbly nodded, allowing Niall to lead him out of the room.

They passed by doctors, nurses, wondering patients, and visitors and they all looked right through the two pale boys walking the halls. Louis felt that familiar chill every time someone looked right into his eyes. It was frightening.

They found Zayn first. He almost ran into them—which they found was impossible. Zayn had rushed past them and Louis reached out to grab Zayn’s hand, but his hand literally passed through the other boy’s. That made Louis feel faint because he distinctly recalled touching Liam, feeling his pulse, holding his hand. 

“Come on,” Niall urged Louis forward and they followed Zayn.

The dark haired boy was standing in front of a desk demanding to know where Liam Payne and Harry Styles were.

Louis felt weird about that because Zayn should be asking where they all were—but Zayn already knew where Niall and Louis were. There was nothing left to check up on.

The receptionist flipped through her files before replying, “Are you family?”

“Yes,” Zayn said zero hesitation, his eyes glinting at the woman as if saying “Try me.”

The woman didn’t look convinced but she simply answered, “Mr. Styles is in surgery right now and Mr. Payne is still being worked on. If you take a seat in the waiting room I will send you with more news when we have it.”

Zayn’s hands tightened around the heavy air before nodding once and walking off.

Niall instantly followed.

“Where are you going?” Louis asked, rushing after him.

“To be with Zayn,” Niall said.

“But we have to find Liam and Harry,” Louis frowned.

“You heard her. They’re still being worked on.”

“We’re ghosts, Niall. We don’t need permission to walk through restricted doors,” Louis reminded him.

Niall stopped walking and watched Zayn flop down on a plastic chair, his face disappearing into his hands. Niall looked conflicted but he eventually told Louis, “You go find them. I have to stay with him.”

Louis nodded. He understood, he really did. Zayn just lost two of his best friends and could possibly lose two more. And despite Zayn’s inability to see Niall, Louis knew that the Irishmen would feel better if he stayed.

“Okay,” Louis said and took a deep breath. “I will come back if I find anything out.”

~

Louis didn’t have to go very far to find Harry. They were wheeling him out of the operating room and into a large recovery room. He ran to the bed where he found a large bandage covering Harry’s torso and he had stitched on his jaw. 

“Doctor? There is a man out here that requested to be informed of Mr. Styles’ progress. His family has already been contacted and they’re on their way,” the familiar receptionist said, standing at the door.

The man who Louis guessed was the doctor nodded and picked up Harry’s file, jotting things down on it. “Was this man also in the crash?”

“I believe so,” the woman said and Louis looked back at Harry. 

“I’ll be right back,” Louis promised and rushed back out to follow the doctor. He sent Niall a little wave when the doctor approached Zayn, who stood up and blinked away his tears.

“Are you here for Harry Styles?” the doctor asked.

Zayn nodded, but didn’t speak.

Niall moved to stand beside Louis. “I’ve seen Zayn cry before but never like this,” he whispered to Louis.

Louis gulped but turned to look at the doctor.

“In the crash Mr. Styles was impaled with a piece of metal that broke off of the bus’s structure. We removed it and repaired the small amount of internal damage with surgery. It will take a while to recover, but other than that and a small concussion, he was make a full recovery.”

Zayn nodded a lot and followed the doctor towards Harry’s room

Louis moved to follow but suddenly his mind became fuzzy and the room spun.

“Lou, are you okay?” Niall asked and Louis felt his hand on his arm.

“I don’t feel so good….” Louis mumbled before his eyes grew heavy.

“Louis? Lou!” Niall cried and Louis felt himself falling. He felt his body be caught and he was gently lowered to the ground. “Louis, what’s happening?” Niall sounded scared.

“I don’t know…” Louis sighed before he fell unconscious. 

 

When Louis opened his eyes again, he was standing in a hospital room. In front of, Liam was laying unconscious on a large bed. He had his eyes closed but he looked peaceful, unlike he had looked on the bus. 

“Louis Tomlinson?”

Louis turned to look at the door and he found a tall man standing in the doorway.

“Y-you can see me?” he asked.

The man nodded. “Yes. I am death. You’re dead. It makes sense,” he smirked.

Louis narrowed his eyes. “I’m guessing I can’t be a ghost forever? That there’s a life after?” he guessed.

“Yes. You’re welcomed in heaven where you are able to watch over the ones you love.”

“And I have to go now?” Louis asked, stepping to Liam’s bed. He reached out towards the boy’s hand but his fingers fell right through Liam’s.

“He won’t be able to see you anymore,” Death replied.

“How could he before?”

“Because he was close to dying. He was supposed to die. If you hadn’t lied to him, he would have tried to move and caused irreparable damage to his injuries. You saved his life.”

Louis felt tears pool in his eyes. “I did?”

“Yes. While he will still be paralyzed for the rest of his life, his concussion will fade and his broken bones will heal. Thanks to you.”

Louis closed his eyes and turned to face the man. “But I could move things on the bus. I could touch things besides Liam—“

“It takes a lot of power for a ghost to touch things, let alone move them. You’re determination to get to Harry allowed you to move objects.

Louis nodded slowly, then asked, ”Where’s Niall?”

“He’s waiting for you in Heaven,” the man promised.

“And you swear they’ll be okay? All of them?”

“Harry will survive and eventually the three of them will learn to celebrate the lives of their fallen friends instead of mourn. It won’t be any day soon but it will happen.”

“You swear?” Louis repeated.

“I swear,” the man smiled and held out his hand.

Louis took it and suddenly the world turned white and instead of the man’s calloused hand holding his it was Niall’s. He was smiling brightly and then he tugged Louis forward and hugged him. 

“Welcome to heaven Louis.”

Louis looked down over Niall’s shoulder and saw Zayn kiss Harry’s hand before walking across the hall to Liam’s room spend his time by his other brother’s side.

Louis no longer felt cold.


	3. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This epilogue never got transferred from tumblr...whoops.

Liam looked out the window into the orange sky, the sun starting to go down. His vision has faded over the years, but the lenses perched on his nose assisted in looking out the window—the same window at the nursing home that he’s looked through for the past 4 years.

Liam was now 89 years old, his life still contained to a wheelchair, his skin wrought tight against his frail bones. His hair had long ago turned grey and his brown eyes followed shortly after.

“Mr. Payne?” a soft voice called from behind him and he slowly turned his head despite the pain it caused him to see the young nurse smiling at him.

“Yeah?” he asked, his voice hoarse from age.

“It’s time to put you back to bed,” the nurse told him and Liam nodded slowly, allowing her and two other nurses transport him back to his bed. His muscles had long ago faded away and he no longer had the strength to pull himself from his chair and into the nursing home bed. 

Liam knew he didn’t have much time left. He could feel it in his bones. He was lucky in his life—no disease or injury besides the accident. But he knew death would come for him soon.

Thinking of the accident that took the life of two of his best friends made Liam’s weak heart hurt further. He let the nurses tuck him in and they left him alone with the lights off, the only light coming through his window from the falling sun. 

After the accident, Liam had woken up to endless lists of bad news. First, his condition. At the time, it had been the worst—but the news right after had been what almost killed him;

The news of Louis and Niall. Zayn had been the one to break it to him and Liam had protested at first.

“But Louis was with me—“ he had argued, but after Zayn explained that Louis died on impact, Liam didn’t protest any further.

How would he have explained that Louis had sat with him, talked to him, touched him? It didn’t make sense, so that’s why Liam buried it away.

He mourned as normal along with Harry and Zayn but refused to mourn forever. The band broke up of course but when the three remaining boys turned 30, Zayn was given the news of cancer that would take his life in less than two years.

One Direction performed three shows in the year following Zayn’s appointment, all dedicated to Louis and Niall’s memory. They argued over where the money they raised would go—Niall and Louis’s families were well off due to the money the two boys left to them and Zayn refused it to help with his treatment. So they decided to donate the money to a charity that fans voted for online. He knew Louis and Niall would have made the same decision. “If it weren’t for the fans, we wouldn’t be here.”

Harry had grown old with Liam, and even lived in this same room in the nursing home with him. He passed due to a heart attack after a year living in the nursing home. 

So here Liam sat, the last living member of One Direction. As he closed his eyes, he felt too cold of hands on his skin and familiar ruckass of banter in the back of his mind.

~

When woke again, he felt a warmth in his bones that he thought he lost long ago. His eyes opened and found that the skin on his hands were no longer tainted with age spots and with a flex of his muscles, he felt the strength he held years ago.

He raised his head and soft white smiles and rosy cheeks consumed his vision.

Louis stood closest, the other three boys hovering behind. 

“Welcome home, Liam,” Louis said and outstretched his hand to where Liam sat in his familiar wheelchair.

Liam took his hand and slowly got to his feet. It was easier than he remembered—walking. Especially after Louis tugged him forward and Liam was suddenly in the center of a group hug.

“Took you long enough,” Zayn commented against his neck.

“M’ sorry,” Liam choked out, overwhelmed. The tears on his cheek were familiar from when he first mourned the loss of each of his friends, but now their purposes were reversed. 

The hug dispersed and Liam looked into the eyes of his band mates. They were all young again, even himself.

Zayn shook his head. “You lived your life like we all were supposed to. You and Harry,” he gently nudged Harry’s side who smiled his dimply grin.

Liam nodded and looked at Louis. They exchanged looks because they both knew what happened on that bus—they knew their exchange was real and Liam survived so long because of it. 

“We’re together now,” Niall announced. “That’s all that matters.”

“Alive or dead, no ones gunna separate us again,” Liam confirmed and he once again found himself pulled into their signature group hugs. Liam never felt so alive.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you see that coming? Please leave your comments :)


End file.
